Sports
Hockey

Canada pounds Slovakia, meets Russia Monday night

Team Canada celebrates a goal against Team Slovakia during the semifinals at the 2015 World Junior Hockey Championships at the Air Canada Centre in Toronto on Sunday January 4, 2015. (Dave Abel/Toronto Sun/QMI Agency)

For Canada in the 2015 world junior championship, there will be nothing less than silver.

Silver, of course, is what you get in this tournament when you lose in the title match.

Against Russia on Monday night at the Air Canada Centre, Canada will attempt to put an end to its golden drought.

Canada, which has not won gold since 2009, will have that opportunity after beating Slovakia 5-1 at the ACC on Sunday evening in a semifinal. Earlier in the day, Russia defeated Sweden 4-1 to advance to the final.

While Canada’s depth has been all the rage, it was carried before a happy crowd of 18,002 by 17-year-old phenom Connor McDavid and Winnipeg Jets prospect Nic Petan.

Both had the puck on a string, and about the only time it came off was when McDavid was passing to Petan and the latter was putting the puck in the net.

Petan had a hat trick, a feat that caused his dad Franc to throw a hat onto the ice with so many others in the building; McDavid assisted on all three, taking advantage of his new linemate after coach Benoit Groulx put Petan with McDavid and captain Curtis Lazar in the second period.

“It’s going to be unbelievable,” McDavid said of facing Russia. “This is something you dream of, getting this opportunity. We have this in front of us, but we can’t look too far ahead. We have a great Russian team ahead of us.”

McDavid can’t go higher than No. 1 in the NHL draft in June, but he has putting more space between himself and American forward Jack Eichel as the tournament has gone on. Still figure that Eichel will go second overall, but there shouldn’t be much more debate as to whether he can overtake McDavid. Not after the way McDavid has performed in the world junior.

In six games, McDavid has two goals and eight assists. Eichel and the United States were eliminated in a quarterfinal against Russia.

It would be one thing if McDavid had been completely healthy oh, say, just a few weeks ago. But he was cleared for contact only after Canada’s camp opened in December in is recovery from a broken bone in his right hand.

The native of Newmarket, Ont., had to get up to speed while playing against the best teenaged hockey players in the world. And he is blowing right past them.

“He has to make his comeback at the world junior championship, which is a world of difference (from regular major junior),” Groulx said.

“It is not even close. The game goes 100 miles an hour, and it is quite an adjustment. I really feel that Connor has been better and better every day. Tonight he was dominant out there with his linemates.”

The came through especially on Petan’s second goal, which stood as the winner.

The game started to change at 18:06 of the second period when McDavid — with a country behind his back and a Slovak on it — managed to slip a pass across to Petan. A split-second later, the puck was hitting the top corner of the net over goalie Denis Godla’s right shoulder.

Shea Theodore scored to give Canada a 3-0 lead, but Slovakia’s David Soltes got his team’s only goal with 3.4 seconds left in the period, depositing the puck under goalie Zach Fucale.

Canada shrugged off the adversity, adding goals by Anthony Duclair and Petan in the third to put Slovakia away. About the only question is whether Fucale will face the Russians. Groulx would not say.

As Canada, which has scored 34 goals in the tournament and allowed just five, enjoyed its third-period bulge, many in the crowd started chanting “We want Russia!” And there was a rendition of “O Canada.”

“It was an incredible feeling,” Petan said of the hats raining down after his third goal. “In the moment, you don’t really think about it, when they are coming down, but I think years from now you will look back at it and think it is pretty cool.”